


Unafraid

by LMB



Category: LazyTown
Genre: Accidents, Awkward Hugging, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Robbie is really shitty at comforting people tbh, some blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-04 19:42:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15848076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LMB/pseuds/LMB
Summary: What if Sportacus's crystal didn't go off when somebody needed him?AKA Once upon a time, Sportacus said he wasn't afraid of anything in "Cry Dinosaur," and my brain called, "Bullshit!"





	Unafraid

_Ninety-eight, ninety-nine..._

Sportacus paused for a moment, looking to the left and right of himself before closing his eyes, savoring the moment, and bending his arms. _Three hundred._

"Woah! You just beat your own record at handstand pushups!" Stephanie cried as Sportacus flipped himself upright from the wall.

"Couldn't have done it without my workout buddy," he chuckled. Stephanie grinned and tossed him a shiny red apple, his favorite sports candy. "Thank you." He took one big bite.

"What exercise are you gonna do next, Sportacus?"

"Well, the sun is out," he began, not seeing the periscope dawdling behind him, "and there's no wind blowing any of the tree branches. So it's a perfect day to do hanging leg raises!"

~

 _"It's a perfect day to do hamaniyegblehmeh."_ The rest of Robbie Rotten's words grew obscured as he drowned them in pure mimicry. He folded his arms. "No. What it _is_ is a perfect day to do nothing, but good old _Sportakook_ \- ow," he winced and twisted a finger in his ear, having forgotten about the loudspeakers above, "and his ragtag team of brats never seem to get the message!"

He looked through his periscope again in afterthought. "Say, where are they all, anyway? I only see Pink Girl! Hmm... maybe they decided to stay inside and play video games all day at Poodle's house. Hm. Hmhm." He double-arched his eyebrows as a toothy grin crossed his face. He whiplashed toward the far end of the lair in a short burst of energy then bent over all at once, hands on his knees and panting like a dog.

_Oh God... why did he just do that... never again..._

Robbie ate a slice of blue cake as he tried to recollect and remember the reason he'd been in such a rush in the first place. _Ah!_ His grey eyes lit up. Of course, the package that arrived containing his latest master plan! How could he forget?

~

The sounds of four other children laughing rang from the ice cream stand. Stephanie ran up to them. "There you guys are! Come check out Sportacus, he's beating another record!"

"Woah, cool!"

"Alright!"

"Awesome!"

They were all so excited they nearly dropped their ice cream, Stingy and Trixie even elbowing some of the others to get past. Sportacus watched the scene from where he hung on the branch and smiled. During his stay in LazyTown, he'd come to see them as his own adopted children. He wondered what life lessons he would teach his sons and daughters today.

"Wow, you're up really high, Sportacus," said Ziggy. "Are you sure you're not afraid?"

"No," he laughed. "I'm not afraid of anything, remember? I told you last time."

 _"Duh,"_ Stingy sneered in Ziggy's face.

"Aw, you're lying," Trixie dismissed. "Everyone's afraid of something."

"Not me!" And with that, Sportacus swung himself over the branch as if it were a makeshift uneven bar and flipped as many times as he could before landing on his feet. The kids applauded and cheered.

"According to my All Purpose Digipad, you just dropped ten feet, increasing your likelihood of injury by 50%. Aren't you afraid of _that?"_ Pixel asked.

Sportacus shook his head. "I've had plenty of training." He did a back handspring and flipped into a handstand, rotating himself around and around. "You're actually more likely to get an injury if you fear getting one." He pushed against the ground with his hands, lifting himself into the air before twisting his body and landing in a plank position. "It's all about maintaining a positive mindset!" He lowered himself into a few pushups, clapping his hands in-between as the kids watched and chattered in amazement.

~

A low growl escaped Robbie's throat. "Stupid Sportac _ass_ thinks he's all that just because his muscles are so big. Whatever! Wait till he gets a load of my newest invention: the Strength Loser 3000!"

He cackled and tiptoed over to his Inventor Microwave where he took out his concoction made of brownies, band aids, baking soda, and a bottle of sleeping pills. They had all combined to form a tube of toothpaste with the words "STRENGTH LOSER 3000: PRODUCT OF RR" printed on it in bold.

"Now when that blue elf brushes his teeth, he won't be able to do twenty of _anything!"_ He both cackled and shuddered at the mental image of Sportacus with decayed teeth. It would be a shame considering how perfectly aligned they were, how they seemed to grow even larger and whiter when he laughed or smiled... what was he saying? Robbie hated Sportacus, he  _hated_  him, and he carried a picture of him in the front pocket of his waistcoat to prove it. Red heart and arrow drawn in marker around his head, you say? What, no, that was just a visual representation of how he wanted him to meet his grisly end and not at all an indication of romantic feelings, which would be ooey and gooey and just plain wrong. 

"Robbie," Sportacus said just then and Robbie gasped and hobbled over to the loudspeakers, putting a hand to his ear, but it turned out Sportacus was not saying anything close to his name at all but "Pass me the soccer ball, Trixie, I'm open!" 

"Alright, fine, maybe I am in Hell. So what?" he tried to tell his own quickly-beating heart. "Anyway, none of that will matter once I get this invention cloned. Soon, sugary sweetness will prevail, and then all of LazyTown will need a root canal!" Robbie raised an eyebrow and smirked. "It's disguise time." He made his way down the display aisle past the princess, French artist, shepherd, and chupacabra - "Too dainty. Too painty. Too sainty. Bleaugh, yikes!" - before stopping in front of some blue scrubs with a white surgical mask. "Aha! Perfect!" He pulled the lever and hummed in satisfaction as the buttons beeped and the whistles blew before his costume appeared and he changed into it. "Dr. Robert, DDS, at your service."

With a smug grin, he adjusted his eyewear and made his way over to the disassembled parts of the Duplicating Machine he bought on that shopping channel he loved so much. The instruction manual lay on the ground next to them, and Robbie picked it up. "'Step one: attach the base with deck screws to the four-wheeled platform.' Ah," he blew a raspberry, "phooey, who needs this?" He tossed it behind him. Sure enough, he put the machine together and even decorated it with a few homey touches in just ten minutes. Now there was only the matter of _moving_ the darned thing, which took up almost a quarter of his lair as it was.

Robbie pushed the Duplicating Machine towards the left wall, where he figured it would fit next to the table with all the drawers on it. "This thing... won't budge," he grunted, leaning his full body weight against the bright blue metal. Finally, it did screech forward a bit, scraping against the floor. One of the screws rattled and fell out. Dammit! Well, that can't have been too important. A few more followed. Whatever. He'd just put them back later. "Hey, is it supposed to be leaking oil like that?" he wondered out loud as he examined the shower head, then shrugged. Just a classic bug, that – nothing he, the brilliant genius, couldn't fix. Oh whoops, the machine was leaning on one side a bit. He reached out with one arm to tip it back up.

~

Stephanie passed the soccer ball to Ziggy, who kicked it to Pixel, who head-butted it into the goal. The three of them cheered and flipped the score card on the table nearby.

"Great shot, Pixel!" Sportacus grinned, giving him a friendly clap on the shoulder. "Maybe next round of 3-on-3 soccer I can be on your team."

"Hey Sportacus," said Stingy. "How come your crystal isn't in all the way?"

"What do you mean?" he laughed, turning to him.

"The left piece on your Number 10. Look, see? It's peeking out a bit."

Sportacus looked down, and sure enough, it was jutting out like a fresh-cut slice of sports candy pie. "How long has it been like that?" he mumbled. He slid it in and almost immediately, the crystal started blaring like crazy. He'd never seen it light up like this. The only other time was when everyone in LazyTown was in trouble, but now there were only three possible people, which meant one of them - maybe all - had to have been in trouble for at least two hours. Sportacus started to get a funny feeling in his chest.

"What's wrong, Sportacus?" said Stephanie.

"Someone's in trouble," he whispered. Then he cleared his throat and smiled widely at the kids before flipping all the way to the Town Hall. Little by little, though, he felt the smile leave his face. Especially when he found out the Mayor and Bessie Busybody were fine and that when he went out the right side entrance, his crystal flashed even brighter. _Robbie._

This time, he did not flip. He sprinted to the billboard on the outskirts of town and threw open the hatch before diving in and well, alright, landing in a perfect somersault before leaping up, because really, he was Sportacus, what else would he do? When he saw what was in front of him, he stilled once again.

There, on the ground, lay evidence of a huge machine accident, with various glass and blue metal parts scattered and broken, and screws and a tube of toothpaste drowned in oil, making a mess on the floor. But that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was that Sportacus could barely make out a pale, oil-covered, unconscious face among them, covered head to toe in injuries. A goose egg, for example, took up half his forehead, and both eyes, previously puffy with insomnia, were now dark and swollen. He wouldn't even mention all the cuts – there was blood on his temple, blood on the bridge of his nose and cheeks, blood on his hands and neck and wrists and almost every other visible body part. The blood that had been rushing in Sportacus's own ears from adrenaline suddenly seemed to stop flowing. For the longest time all he could do was stand and stare, and he was disappointed in himself for it. But he didn't want to move, either, because then it would be real. This would be happening right before his eyes.

Something stirred beneath the pile just then and gave a weak cough. "Urgh... what happened?"

 _"Robbie!"_ Sportacus shouted, grin taking up half his face. "I was – I thought I didn't–"

Then next thing he knew he was breaking down crying and squeezing Robbie, who looked one part angry, one part uncomfortable, and both parts confused. "S-Sportaflop? Stop that."

"Oh, Robbie, I'm so sorry," Sportacus buried his face into his shoulder, carding both his hands through the other's hair. "Please forgive me."

Robbie's fingers shook, ghosting just above Sportacus's back.  _Well._  Comforting a grown man-slash-elf crying in his arms was definitely not written anywhere in the "Rotten Behavior for Dummies" book. How was he supposed to do this?

"Please don't cry. I don't know how to stop it," he begged. Well, now, that had to get points for honesty. But somehow he doubted that was the first thing on the flushed pink elf's mind. Especially since his tears were starting to leak through the thin material of his shirt. Robbie frowned and twitched his nose in thought. _Thought_ – what was the opposite of thinking? "Aha!" He leaned forward and kissed him on the temple. Much to his confusion, Sportacus just gripped and cried harder. Robbie pressed his lips to his head again and again, mumbling, "Come on, come on, why won't he accept it? I'm not that gross, am I? I know  _I'd_  stop crying if I were getting a kiss from me."

Sportacus, meanwhile, couldn't bring himself to look Robbie in the eye. Here he was, receiving kiss after gentle kiss for something he had not even managed to do. He wanted to be happy that Robbie potentially felt the same way back, but it only furthered his guilt.

What followed for that next half hour was a stressful montage in which Robbie went back and forth between collecting buckets for Sportacus's tears, threatening to throw away all his favorite sports candy, apologizing profusely for said threats, hiding behind his orange chair in the hope that maybe he would quiet down on his own, and coddling him and kissing his forehead. Finally, when they were hugging once again, this time with Robbie actually reciprocating somewhat - he had his hands placed stiffly on his shoulder blade and elbow, but it was progress from the last few tries - he sighed. "Um. Sportacus." 

At the use of his real name, the elf looked up. "Huh?"

Great, he had his attention! Now was his chance. "What... is... wrong?" Robbie gritted through his teeth. God, these social niceties, they _hurt._ But at least Sportacus was opening his mouth to tell him.

"Wow, sorry. I don't think I've cried like this since I was a young boy," he chuckled weakly, swiping a hand across his nose. "My dad started me off with slightly-above-average hero training at around Stephanie's age when he noticed I liked to help people just like he did. But the one thing he always told me was that the strongest heroes learn to permanently overcome their fears. I care about you so much, Robbie. And I'm always... _quietly hoping_ my crystal will work, but this time I was so afraid I lost you, or wouldn't get here on time, that I couldn't do anything about it. When you're afraid, you don't think clearly enough to solve anyone's problems. That's why I can't be afraid of anything. It would shatter everyone's illusions of all that a hero is supposed to be."

Robbie chortled. "Well, that's just fucked up."

"Robbie," he lightly scolded, "there are children near."

"What? Oh, come on, they can't hear me!"

"We _all_ hear you."

"Y-You can?"

Oh no. So he could hear him rambling about his muscles? And his smile? And delivering all his dramatic Shakespearean monologues that were not meant to be heard by anyone? 

"I'm glad to know you think so highly of my butt, by the way," Sportacass laughed. Sportacass?! No, he meant Sportac _us!_ Oh God, this was a disaster. Robbie hid his reddening face in his hands, considering crying himself. That is, until Sportacus took them both in his and kissed them. "You're so funny. And - are you dressed as a doctor?"

"Dentist," Robbie corrected. "Dr. Robert, DDS. Or at least, I would've been, if I hadn't screwed up." Sportacus gave him a look and he stammered, "W-Well, somebody had to teach that Tricky kid a lesson! She made fun of me the other day for having buck teeth!"

"Oh, Robbie." Sportacus shook his head. "Your teeth are beautiful. I'm so glad none of them got broken in the accident. At least, I don't _think_ any of them did."

"Ah-ah! Don't touch," Robbie said, lowering Sportacus's prying fingers from his mouth. "You've already crossed several personal boundaries with me today, thank you."

Sportacus rolled his eyes playfully. "I wouldn't have to be so worried about you if you'd just–"

"'Follow the instructions', I know. You and Pink Girl never let me live that down. And while I'm at it I should shine my shoes, always say 'please', brush my teeth, blah blah." 

Sportacus giggled. "Are you always this cute? Or just when I rescue you?"

"Um." Robbie looked down, trying - and failing - to hide his smile. "I don't know if you noticed, Sportablind, but I look like hell rolled over."

"Well, then you are the cutest rolled-over hell I know."

"Okay, Sportacheesy."

The two of them laughed and hugged again, and wow, it actually felt pretty nice when Robbie put in some effort. "Thank you for being patient with me, Robbie."

"Yeah, well, thank you for sitting still for once."

Sportacus hopped up and helped Robbie to his feet as well, leading him to the bathroom so he could clean some of his wounds – it was the least he could do. He sniffled. "Please don't tell the kids."

"Oh, come on, Sportaflip. I may be rotten, but I'm not heartless." His grey eyes crinkled. "Besides, I know what you're  _really_  afraid of."

"What?"

"Dinosaurs!" Robbie laughed, throwing his arms out like he was on a game show. 

Sportacus shook his head. "You got me there." And he walked over to kiss him, because really, who could resist such an enthusiastic nerd?

 

**Author's Note:**

> What the heck am I doing with my life?
> 
> Shipping these two morons, that's what. *shrugs*


End file.
